Strengthening agricultural advisory services to make agroecological knowledge and practices available to small and marginal farmers is critical to transition towards agroecology and organic farming. Digital learning tools are a cost-effective way to train farmers on agroecological practices, encourage farmer-led experimentation and local innovation, and upscale agroecology.

Ecological farming is knowledge-intensive, complex and hard to share. Small and marginal farmers, rural women and youth in particular, who are faced with diverse challenges, have limited access to relevant agricultural information and knowledge in their own language and are desperate for such resources. Strengthening the knowledge and skills of these farmers is critical to local food systems.

ERA team member showing videos to farmers using smart projector in Durdih village in Bihar

However, due to the low ratio of extension workers to farmers (1:1162 in India, for example), only a small percentage of farmers have access to face-to-face extension. For decades, extension services have been informed by research that was geared towards supporting the green revolution model of agriculture and therefore do not have the right mindset nor skills and knowledge to support agroecological transition. While some development projects have farmer-training programmes on agroecology, their reach is limited. Strengthening agricultural advisory services to make agroecological knowledge and practices available to small and marginal farmers therefore remains a major challenge.

As new information and communication technologies (ICTs) are rapidly becoming more available, there is a growing realisation that quality digital learning tools should be used to reach more farmers to transition towards agroecology and organic farming. Videos are a cost-effective way to train farmers on agroecological practices, encourage farmer-led experimentation and local innovation, and scale agroecology.